Cyclists and hikers are being asked to avoid another section of the Columbia and Western Trail with multiple grizzly bears continuing to roam in the area.
According to a statement on the trail’s Facebook page, a grizzly bear sow with three cubs has been spotted roaming east of Bulldog Tunnel and as far as two kilometres west of Coykendahl. The bears have also been seen between kilometers 22 and 25 on the Bulldog Forest Service Road.
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Another grizzly bear sow with cubs has also been seen roaming on the trail between Farron and Paulson in recent days. The bears were last spotted approximately two kilometers east of Farron.
Due to the sightings, hikers and cyclists are being asked avoid using the trail between the Cub Creek Trestle and Paulson. They’re also asked to avoid new branches of the Bulldog Forest Service Road between kilometres 20 and 25, sections of the Bulldog Forest Service Mainline between kilometres 20 and 24, and sections of the Dog Creek Forest Service Road between kilometres 0 at Paulson to kilometre 13 on the mainline.
With the grizzly bear sow and cubs together, the statement said any close encounters with them could be extremely dangerous.
Many of the grizzly bears were first spotted along the trail on May 8.
A cougar was also spotted along the trail near Castlegar just last month.
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